Handprinted Bedding and Cloths

With the modern open-concept of lofts, smaller condos and apartments; bedrooms once kept behind closed doors are now out in the open. Now exposed to an open concept, bedding has become a part of the overall decor.

In the heart of artsy Granville Island is a well-established handprint shop. The foundation actively supports the Arjakh artisans who live and work in the Kutch desert, close to the Pakistan border. They commission large quantities of these textiles, buying them at Fair Trade prices. These are then imported and made into bedding and decorative cloths.

By paying fair prices, it preserves the ancient craft and maintaining high standards to the art and the designs, which remains with the artisans.

The textile enthusiast will find inspiration in the creative collection of Arjakh block-printed cloths. Indigo blues, madder reds, and yellows derived from pomegranate rinds are among the natural dyes that characterised the prints.

The production is complicated, time-consuming and labour-intensive. The arjakh cloth is scrubbed, beaten to create an impurity-free foundation receptive to the dyes. The intricately carved wooden blocks, used for hand-printing has been around for centuries. 

One of the cloth printing method is accomplished by coating the block with a sticky mud, a mixture of mealy wheat and jaggery paste. This mixture forms a resist and gives way to a gentle tonal patterning. 

Multiple dips in a combination of baths create an excitement of new colours. The Arjakh designs are timeless and can easily be mixed and matched with a fusion of colours. By varying the sequences of blocks and the dyes in the vats, there is a vast variety of designs, tones and hues. Mixing and matching old with new is easy.

With India's rich tradition of block printed textiles, these materials became sought after and popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when Europe was trading with the East. Their vibrant colours and paisley patterns made their way into the paintings of the old Dutch Masters.

In our travels, I am always on the lookout for unique handmade items that are practical and for usage in daily life. We had handprinted bedding in our sailboat, Sequitur, and it offered us much comfort and style on our voyage through Patagonia and around Cape Horn. Handprinted bedding and table linen are onboard Zonder Zorg, our floating home in Europe.